The Penn State Commission for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) has recommended that University Park become a smoke-free campus, starting with a ban on smoking within a certain distance of all university facilities.

The recommendations will be discussed at a future university smoking policy committee meeting, Susan Kennedy, CSAP member and associate director of University Health Services (UHS), said.

Current university policy states that smoking is prohibited in all university facilities.

Smoking is also prohibited outside these facilities; however, there is no minimum distance specified. As the policy stands, a person may not smoke in any outside area adjacent to a facility, where the smoke may "enter and affect the internal environment" or "unduly affect the environment of those entering or exiting the facility."

The letter containing the recommendations was sent to the university smoking policy committee Nov. 14, Kennedy said.

"I anticipate [the university smoking policy committee] discussing it in the very near future," Kennedy said. "From what I understand, the committee does not meet regularly so they will discuss it at the next meeting."

Other recommendations include the prohibition of smokeless tobacco, the marking of approved and non-approved smoking areas and the strategic placement of ashtrays and receptacles to encourage people to smoke farther away from buildings, CSAP chairman Brian Mauro said.

Hershey Medical Center and Lehigh Valley have already implemented campus-wide smoking bans.

The Lehigh Valley campus began enforcing a complete smoking ban a year and a half ago, Mauro said, adding that the only areas exempt from the ban are residence areas and parking lots.

"[CSAP] is hopefully going to work with the Penn State smoking policy committee to propose a smoke-free campus policy," said Linda LaSalle, coordinator of educational services at UHS.

Hershey Medical Center opted to ban smoking Jan. 1, said Sean Young, director of strategic services at Hershey Medical Center.

Mauro said other Penn State campuses, such as Dubois, are looking at revising their smoking policies as well, adding that it would take time for any revisions to be made.

At Hershey Medical Center, smoking and the use of tobacco products are banned on campus, with the exception of residence areas and construction zones, Young said.

This policy will be in a transition phase until July 1, he said, adding that during the transition policy violators will not be punished because people need time to adjust.

"We are informing employees and visitors, expecting that they will respect our policy, but we are not punishing people. We realize smoking is an addiction so we want to give people the time to take the necessary measures," Young said.

Recently, the Pennsylvania Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee approved the Clean Indoor Air Act, which would prohibit smoking in work places and public venues across the state.

State Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre) said he is not sure when the bill will go before the Senate for a full vote. The Senate will be breaking soon and the bill will be addressed when it comes back in March, he said.

Corman predicted that there would be amendments made to the bill before a possible approval.

"I think there are the votes to pass it in the Senate, but it is hard to guess -- we will just have to wait and see," he said.